The present invention relates generally to information recording and reproduction, and more particularly, to recording audio and video signals or the like together with additional information related to those signals, and selectively reproducing the audio/video signals based on the additional information.
Presently, analog-type video tape recorders (VTRs) are commonly used to record and reproduce analog video and audio signals of a television broadcast. It is contemplated that digital data corresponding to such analog video and audio signals will be commonly recorded on a digital storage medium such as an optical disk or a magnetic hard disk.
With conventional VTRs, reproduction is facilitated by introducing various identifying signals during the recording process. For example, one type of identifying signal is used to identify whether a television broadcast is a bilingual broadcast or a stereo broadcast. As a result, a television receiver can discriminate between these two types of broadcasts and control the audio signal output method accordingly.
Contemporary optical disks and hard disks have superior accessibility, i.e., random access capability, as compared to analog magnetic tapes. As such, various fast viewing and listening methods are now being considered for these disks, such as speech speed conversion and selective skipping of song contents. In contrast, conventional VTRs lack such capability. Some prior art VTRs include an automatic audio selection function or the like, while others have a speech speed conversion feature. A drawback of the speech speed conversion feature, however, is that video and audio are processed independently. This is problematic in that the output audio and video may become unsynchronized, resulting in unnatural audiovisual output, e.g., lips moving before or after the audio is produced.
Conventional laser disc players (xe2x80x9cLDPsxe2x80x9d) are capable of header search for karaoke use (i.e., for use in a sing-along machine). However, in the case of ordinary broadcasts, users in many instances desire to view conversational-type programs between musical performance programs. In these cases, the conventional LDP, which is capable only of header search, is inadequate.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of recording an audio or audiovisual signal on a digital storage medium, while concomitantly analyzing its characteristics over time for particular audio types and storing information indicative of such characteristics on the storage medium.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a reproduction apparatus that allows for selective reproduction of the audio or audiovisual signal so recorded based on user selection of a particular audio type.
It is another object of the invention to provide recording and reproduction apparatuses with enhanced features.
In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, there is provided an information recording apparatus for recording at least an audio signal onto a recording medium, which includes detection circuitry for detecting a feature of the audio signal, and recording circuitry for recording together with the audio signal additional information that corresponds to the detected feature. Preferably, features of the audio signal are detected in a time-segmented manner, such that segments or frames of the audio signal are each characterized. For example, features that may be detected by the detection circuitry may include: whether a given segment comprises muted audio; whether it comprises music; or whether it comprises conversational speech.
With the feature information stored on the recording medium, versatility during reproduction is advantageously possible, thereby providing the user with a highly versatile tool during playback. For instance, the user is able to skip portions of the recorded material having an undesired audio type or types, or to quickly locate a desired portion of the recorded material by selective skipping based on audio types.
In another illustrative embodiment, there is provided an information reproduction apparatus for reproducing at least an audio signal corresponding to audio data recorded on a recording medium on which additional information relating to at least the audio signal is also recorded. The apparatus includes reading means for reading out a portion of the additional information prior to any reproduction of a corresponding portion of the audio signal; determining means for determining whether to reproduce the corresponding portion of the audio signal in accordance with the read-out portion of the additional information and a current operating mode; and control means for controlling reproduction of the corresponding portion of the audio signal in accordance with a determination by the determining means.